Let Your Hair Down
by oranges and cigarettes
Summary: C/C. "I'm not sure how I got here. The only thing I am sure of is that it started with me heading to the library and somehow ended with me trying not to trip as I walked down the aisle." A road trip fic, told mostly in past tense. Full summary inside.
1. Nashville

**Let Your Hair Down  
Oranges and Cigarettes  
Disclaimer: Not mine.****  
Full Summary: In between their last exams and graduation, Casey and Cappie convince each other to go on a road trip that leads them across the country and straight to Sin City.  
Author's Notes: My first 1st person POV! And most of it's in past tense, which is also rare.**

* * *

I'm not exactly sure how I got here. I mean, I know how I got _here_; I put one foot ahead of the other until I reached the alter, and now I'm waiting for the wedding, _my _wedding to start. But the rest of it happened so fast that I think the only thing I am sure of is that it started with me heading to the library and somehow ended up with me trying not to trip as I walked down the aisle.

I still have no idea what it was that compelled me to head to the library. I rarely, if ever, went there; every paper I wrote was 40 percent bullshit, 30 percent things I read off of wikipedia, and 10 percent facts I remembered from class, high school, or reruns of Jeopardy. And so the library was the one place on campus I was rarely seen. But I'd taken my last exam and had two weeks to kill before I finally graduated. Most of my friends still had exams to take and were trapped in the KT house, memorizing the answers to the old tests I'd given them. I was bored out of my skull and took a walk, hoping to find something anything exciting.

For some reason, my feet interpreted those thoughts as a subconscious desire to go to the library, despite the fact that it is, with the possible exception of a Psi Phi Pi party, the least interesting place on campus. I had nothing better to do, though, so I headed inside to escape the boiling heat. I went up to the top floor, by the paleontology textbooks, the only place in the library I'd spent any significant amount of time. It's where I met Becca for our library rendezvous. I suppose I was feeling a little nostalgic; I hadn't been with anyone seriously since she broke up with me halfway through last summer. She'd said something about refusing to be dumped for Casey and that she was leaving me before I left her.

I didn't expect anyone to be up there and was surprised when I heard muffled cries coming from behind one of the stacks. I was even more surprised when I saw it was Casey Cartwright holding back tears. She was sitting on the ground, her arms wrapped around her legs and her face pressed into her jean-clad knees. I'd never seen her so small, so vulnerable. She looked lost. The whole thing felt foreign to me; Casey was almost always in control. Even if she had no power to stop what was going on around her, she always acted like she did. She never hid in the library, crying where no one could see her.

I sat down beside her and gingerly patted her on the back. "Case… what's wrong?" She didn't move or speak. She acted like I wasn't there. I moved to crouch in front of her, taking one of her hands and using the other to lift her face up from her knees. "It's me. You can tell me anything. What's wrong?"

It took her a few seconds in order to calm down enough to be able to talk. "I finished my last final today and I came her to print out a paper for extra credit, and I realized that it's all over. And in a month, I'm moving to New York to work with this company, and I don't know anyone there and I can't do it."

I almost laughed at how ridiculous she was being, but I held it in. "What are you talking about? You're one of the most capable people I know."

She shook her head. "It's not the same, Cappie. The real world isn't like CRU. I'll have to find an apartment and make new friends and buy new winter clothes and I don't know how to do any of it."

I couldn't hold back a smile this time. There was no way Casey couldn't handle that stuff. "Buying an apartment is easy, Case. You just look through the paper, find one you like, pay for it, and move in. And making friends? Don't be ridiculous, you've never had trouble making friends."

"Yeah, because I'm in a sorority. One of the reasons I rushed was to make friends. It's a lot easier when you're forced to be around them."

"You made friends with Ashleigh before either of you joined ZBZ."

"That doesn't count; we just started talking in the laundry room one day."

I let go of her hand and scooted over next to her. "That's how friendships work. You meet someone and talk to them, and if you want to, you keep meeting up with them and talking to them."

"And what about winter clothes? It never gets below 65 degrees here! I don't even have a jacket."

I snickered and she looked almost offended. "Oh, come on, when have you ever had trouble shopping."

She started laughing, too. _Finally_, I thought, _she's back to normal_. "Thanks, Cap."

I stood up, and extended her a hand. "Anytime, sweet heart. So, are you busy? We can go to Dobblers and celebrate the end of exams."

I expected her to say no, that she had to meet Ashleigh or Spitter or someone, but she agreed. She dropped off her paper and we walked over to our favorite bar. I tried not to think about the fact that I would only be back here a few more times.

"So," she said, turning to me, "what are you doing next year?"

"I'm actually moving to New York, too. Wade's older brother has a party planning business there, and who knows more about parties than us?" I hadn't focused on the fact that she was moving to the same city as I am when she was melting down earlier, but now that I thought about it I realized that it was a ridiculous coincidence.

She squealed, excited, and then smacked me on the arm. "You idiot, you couldn't mention that when I was freaking out about not having any friends?"

I laughed a little, only have joking when I rubbed the spot where she slapped me. Girl can pack a punch. "It slipped my mind, what can I say? Come on, I'll buy you other drink to make up for it."

One drink became six, then eight over the course of the night. Dobblers was slowly emptying as we sat there, drinking ourselves silly. "You know what'd be fun?"

"What?" I asked, smiling. I loved Casey when she was drunk. Sober, too, but that was I thought I didn't let myself dwell on too much.

"If we took a trip! We have two weeks until graduation, let's go somewhere!"

That's the last thing I remember. I recall random flashes, hopping a bus, stumbling out of a cab, trying eight times to open the motel room door before realizing I was using my house key, but the rest of it's a blur. The next thing I can truly remember is waking, fully clothed, on the bathroom floor of some motel.

I sat up too quickly, which only exacerbated my pounding headache. Casey was in there, washing her face and looking as miserable as I felt. "Where are we? And why am I in the bathroom?"

She jumped a little when I spoke. I guess she didn't realize I was awake. "We're in Tennessee. I don't why we're here, though. I think last night we wanted to go on a trip."

I started to piece together the night before. "I think you wanted to go on a trip. And the bathroom?"

She blushed and I grinned. Hopefully this was a good story, one that involved her drunkenly showering in front of me, or something like that. "I uh… started throwing up. And you held my hair back and then we decided to just lie down on the bathroom floor. And you fell asleep."

Damn. "Oh well. Come on, let's get out of here." We made sure we had all of our things (apparently we'd drunkenly packed for our trip last night, as we both had bags with a few changes of clothes and at least a months worth of underwear. I also had one flipper, for reasons unbeknownst to me. We slowly made our way out of the motel and into the bright sunshine. The bus station was walking distance away and so we headed down the sidewalk.

On the way, a bright yellow sign for a car rental company caught my eye. "Casey," I said, stopping short and grabbing her hand. "Why do we have to go back right away?"

"What are you talking about? Of course we have to go back." She let go of my hand and started walking up the sidewalk

"Why? We have classes, no exams, nothing to do for two weeks. Why don't we take a real trip? One we remember?"

She stopped. She was listening to me, at least. I ran over to her. "Come on, unwind a little bit. Let your hair down. It'll be a last hurrah before have to work for the rest of our lives." She was wavering, I could tell. "We'll go to Disneyland…" I knew that would get her; she's been dreaming about going there since she was five.

"Alright, I'm in. But you're paying."

* * *

**So, it starts. I'm excited for where this is going to go. ****I know I'm a bit vague when it comes to Casey's major and profession, and I know that the fact that they're both going to NY is a bit of a stretch, but work with me here.**


	2. New Orleans

**Let Your Hair Down**

**oranges and cigarettes **

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

**Author's Notes: Chapter two is here! It's also my longest chapter ever, since mine are usually five pages and this one is about seven. I hope you like it.**

* * *

Grinning, I grabbed Casey by the hand and pulled her into the building. "You won't regret this, sweetheart."

She elbowed me lightly in the stomach. "I already regret it. And don't call me sweetheart."

I refused to dignify her quip with a reply and headed up to the counter. "I'd like to rent a car please. Preferably a cheap one," I said, giving Casey a pointed look. She rolled her eyes but her lips twitched a little bit. I turned back to the woman behind the counter. "So, about that car?" She ignored my most charming smile and handed me a clipboard, a pen, and several pieces of paper to read and sign. While I filled it all out, Casey busied herself at the stand behind me, looking with interest at the brochures and maps on display.

When I finally finished signing my name a million times, I pushed the paperwork back to the lady and she handed me the keys. I almost laughed aloud when Casey strode purposefully over to the driver's side door. "I think you're getting in the wrong seat, there."

She looked back at me, incredulous. "Are you kidding me? I drive."

I stepped closer to her, so that we were nearly nose-to-nose. "Don't you remember, Case? You ride."

"Come on," she said, laying her hands on my chest and looking up at me. "Let me drive, please?" When I didn't respond to her puppy-dog look, she changed tactics and kissed my neck, playfully biting me. That little minx remembered all my spots. It took every single ounce of will I had to step away from her. "I paid. My credit card, my keys. Get in the front seat, princess."

She got in the front seat and slammed the door. When I slid behind the wheel, chuckling, she snapped, "don't call me princess."

I ignored her comment and her glare, knowing she'd get over her annoyance in a few minutes. I turned on the radio, trying to find something decent to listen to. I scrolled past ten different country stations before stumbling across "Since U Been Gone." Casey started giggling and I immediately realized why. It was because I'm a huge closet Kelly Clarkson fan and she knew it. We used to listen to her CD together when Evan was out of the room freshman year.

I grinned at her and started singing along in my best falsetto. She laughed harder, and started to sing along with me. I put the car in reverse and was about to leave the parking lot when I realized something rather crucial. I had no idea where we going. "Um, Casey? What do you know about the highway system in Tennessee?"

She pulled a map out of her bag. "While you were trying to charm a middle-aged woman into giving you a discount, I got us some maps." She opened it and looked down intently, studying the roads. "Okay, to get to LA, follow signs for I-40 west and go down that road for about 200 miles."

"Dude, we're not going to LA yet," I said, giving her a disbelieving look.

"What?" She yelled.

"I know, I know, don't call you dude."

"No, not that, you promised we'd go to Disneyland!" I looked over at her and saw she looked legitimately upset this time.

"We will, we will. It's just that we can get to LA in what, two days, three tops. We've got fourteen to kill. So let's see some other places on our way."

She considered my point and then smiled. A surge of relief passed through me. I wanted to make this trip last but I didn't really dwell on why too much. I told myself every day that Casey and I were just friends now, that this was just a friendly trip between friends. Friends who had no unspoken sexual tension or years of longing and pining or annoying WASPs between them. Friendly friend friends. Yup.

"So where are we heading first?" she asked, her eyes sparking.

"How about Nawlans?" I asked, using an exaggerated accent to sound like people I'd heard on TV.

"Where?"

I sighed. "New Orleans, Case."

She brightened. "I've always wanted to go there!" She rummaged through her bag and pulled out another map. "All right, then we get on I-40, but we get off pretty quickly, and take the exit for I-65 south. And we follow that for about 200 miles. Again."

"Sounds great," I said, biting back a groan and wishing I'd let her drive.

"Let's hit the road!" She grinned, stretching. I tried not to notice the way her shirt lifted up and revealed a bit of her stomach, or the way her chest pushed out a bit as she stretched.

"Oh, and Cappie?"

"Yes, dear?"

"Stop staring at my boobs."

"Yes, dear."

With that, we took off down the highway. This was going to be the start of something good.

Two hours later, I was miserable. The air conditioner in the car was temperamental at best, so I was stuck using the windows to cool me down. And the south is hot. Crazy hot. "This sucks."

"Aw, are you tired of driving? Do you want to switch?" she asked sympathetically.

"Yes," I said, gratefully, looking for a shoulder I could pull off into so she could take over. "Sucks to be you. I'm going to take a nap."

"Aw, come on," I protested. "You got to sleep in a bed last night! If anyone needs a nap, it's me."

She ignored me and laid her head against the door closing her eyes. Despite my annoyance, I turned the radio down and kept on driving. Every now and then I would glance over at her. Since she was sleeping, I could look at her without her ever knowing. A small, Spitter-like voice was telling me that I wasn't over her, but the rest of me told Spitter-Cappie to shove it.

After four hours of driving, I couldn't ignore the growls my stomach was making. I pulled out at the next exit and shook Casey awake. "Come on, there's a diner here. Let's get some food." I stepped out of the car, grateful to stretch my legs a bit.

She pulled her hair, mussed from sleep, into a loose ponytail. "Sounds great, I'm starving." She all but ran for the entrance, and I followed her at a more leisurely pace, glancing more than a few times at her butt. What can I say? I'm an ass man. When I got inside, I didn't see her immediately. I figured she was in the bathroom and headed that way so I could wash my hands. As I walked, I didn't notice a leg stuck out in the aisle and completely wiped out, smacking into a waiter. I stood up, whistling nonchalantly. "That was a great lunge. Really worked out my glutes." I said to the old woman staring at me. "You should try it! Great exercise."

Satisfied that I'd saved face, I turned to find the source of my tumble and saw Casey in the booth next to my, cackling. Yes, cackling, like the Wicked Witch, who haunted my dreams as a little kid. That color man, it wasn't natural. "What the hell, Casey?" I said. My words were angry but my smile betrayed my true feelings.

"Stop ogling me, you perv."

"Yes ma'am." And I slid in the booth across from her.

When the waitress came, I ordered a burger and fries. I expected Casey to order her usual salad, but instead, she got a burger, a salad, and a baked potato. "You weren't kidding about being hungry."

"Yeah, well, that happens when I last ate over twelve hours ago, and then puked that up." She paused, considering her words. "I'm obviously really classy. I'm like, two drunken hook ups away from being Betsy!"

"Hey," I said. "You threw up in a bathroom, in a toilet even. She threw up on the KT floor. That counts for like, six drunken hook ups."

"Don't forget the lifeguard stand at Myrtle Beach."

"Twelve then. Ooh! You could hook up with each of the zodiac signs!"

She sipped her water thoughtfully. "You came up with that pretty quickly."

"And did it. They were all TriPi girls, too. It was sophomore year. I didn't get all twelve though. I couldn't find a Virgo."

"In that house? I'm not surprised."

I snorted into my drink, laughing even harder when she said, "Oops, did I say that out loud?"

The waitress brought us our food and we stopped talking after that, focusing on getting the food into our stomachs as quickly as possible. After we finished, Casey footed the bill, despite my protests.

We headed back outside, the bright sunshine making me squint. I stood by the car for a second, trying to will myself into getting in and driving for another four hours. Suddenly, though, I felt a small hand reaching down my pant pocket and jumped back. "What are you doing?" I yelled, my voice unnaturally high.

"Getting the keys. Get in the back and go to sleep for a while, I'm driving."

I smiled gratefully and crawled in the back. I expected to fall asleep immediately, but I couldn't stop the questions from racing through my mind. What was Casey's deal? She and I had been following the "just friends" track pretty well since spring break two years ago, though there were moments I could have sworn she wanted something more. But she'd been flirty today, really flirty. It hadn't been like this since freshman year. I couldn't help but worry that she was making sure she wouldn't be all alone in the big city come the fall. I held back a groan, wishing she'd finally want me on my own merits.

Eventually, I must have fallen asleep. When I woke up, night had fallen and I imagined we couldn't be too much further from New Orleans. I was glad I got some sleep. As far as I'm concerned, a night spent sober in that city is a night wasted. Or, unwasted as the case may be.

We got a hotel room, dumped our stuff out, and went to grab some food. I was eager to try all of that New Orleans food, but I limited how much gumbo I ate. If I got a little too drunk tonight, gumbo was up there on the list of foods I wouldn't want to revisit in the form of vomit later.

We were on the elevator when I called the first shower. I was surprised when Casey didn't protest, but didn't dwell on it. That is, until the elevator doors opened and she sprinted out, trying to beat me to the bathroom. I caught up to her easily, thanks to my longer stride. I picked her up and tossed her onto the bed, planning on running into the shower as soon as I dropped her. But then I looked at her, her hair fanned out behind her. For a second I was frozen, and in the time it took me to realize I was probably going to need a cold shower with her around, she'd ran into the bathroom. Damn.

I heard the water turn off and noted that all of her clothes were still sitting in her suitcase. I grabbed the ice bucket and ran into the hall, trying to figure out why the idea of seeing her in just a towel scared the crap out of me. Spitter-Cappie piped up again, _you're afraid you won't be able to control yourself if you see her, that you'll fall right back again. _Of course, that was a lost cause anyways.

When I returned, she was wearing clothes and blow-drying her hair at the dresser. I avoided looking at her legs or her painted toenails or just how tight her t-shirt was. She wasn't dressed sluttily, but she was wearing clothes for going out and they were a bit more revealing than the jeans and t-shirt she'd been wearing all day.

I grabbed some clothes and headed into the bathroom. I showered quickly, eager to get the grime that comes from traveling off of my body. I didn't let myself linger. I was feeling nervous and jumpy, more like Spitter than my usual self, and I was eager to drink my nerves away. I was trying to shave when I dropped my razor. As I stood up after picking it up, I knocked my shirt and jeans into the huge puddle I'd left on the bathroom floor. Annoyed, I went outside in just my boxers to pick up something dry to wear. For once, the thought of Casey didn't even occur to me, until I heard a slight intake of breath as I came out. A flash of nervousness went through me, but I pretended it didn't exist, and said, "Like what you see, Case?"

She didn't say anything, and I strolled to my suitcase and pulled out a pair of black jeans and another shirt. I pulled the jeans on first, lingering as I buttoned up the shirt. I enjoyed seeing Casey flustered after all of the crap she pulled on me today, and it was a relief to see that she still wanted me. Knowing that she was at least still attracted to me made me worry less about her possibly using me, for which I was grateful. I really couldn't deal with that again.

Her hair try and falling prettily around her face, Casey started doing her make up while I sat around watching TV. Girls took so freaking _long_. But when she turned to face me, smiling, I couldn't argue with the results. "Looking lovely, my fair lass," I said, bowing down like an old English gentleman.

She grinned and curtseyed. "Thank you, kind sir." I took her arm and we headed down to the bar the hotel manager recommended. It was a bit like Dobblers, loud, with good music and a crowd of happy people our age. We headed up to the bar and I tried to ignore the appreciative looks of the guys at the bar. I wasn't an excessively jealous type, but the way they looked at her annoyed me. I bought us drinks and leaned back, watching the surroundings.

Casey was talking to the boy next to her and after a few minutes, the two headed out to the dance floor. I never had trouble being alone surrounded by people I didn't know, and so I looked over the redheaded girl sitting at the table by herself. She was pretty, but she looked a bit sad and lost and I couldn't figure out why someone would stay here if they were unhappy.

"Why the long face?" I asked, pulling up a chair next to her.

"Skanky ex-best friends making out with my now ex-boyfriend right in front of me," she said, glaring at nothing in particular.

"Well, that's a reason to frown. Could be worse though."

"Oh yeah?" she asked, looking at me. "How so?"

"Skanky ex-best friends giving your now ex-boyfriend crabs. It happened to my little brother earlier this year."

She laughed. "Sounds like your brother deserved what he got. I'm Sarah."

I shook her hand. "Cappie. But he wasn't cheating. The girl was his… fun buddy."

"What? Oh, _oh_…"

"Yeah. It was pretty awkward when we all found out. It was in the middle of a party, really took things to the next level."

She laughed and drained her drink. "Come on, Cappie, I'll buy you a drink." We bought each other the next few rounds and I was beginning to feel that familiar warm feeling. I pulled her out to the dance floor. The music was fast and the beat was solid. I was having a lot of fun with Sarah, until I noticed something out the corner of my eye. Casey looked upset. "I'll be right back," I mouthed at Sarah and she nodded.

"Are you alright?" I asked. She was alone now and looked a bit shaken.

"Fine. He wanted me to go back with him, I said no, he got upset. It's no big deal. I'm fine." She smiled at me and it didn't look fake.

I nodded, satisfied. "Do you wanna head out?" I asked. When she nodded, I continued. "Let's get out of here. I just need to let someone know I'm leaving."

She sat at a table while I headed to Sarah. "My friend just hit on by a huge tool. She's pretty shaken up, so we're gonna head back. It was good meeting you."

She nodded. "I hope your friends okay. I had fun tonight." She hugged me and I left.

"Oh, did I cock block you? We can stay if you want," she said, looking nervous.

"Don't worry about it, Case," I said, throwing my arm around her shoulders. "Besides, I'm getting tired of the random hookups."

"That'll be the day," she muttered, and we laughed as headed out of the bar and walked down on the street. When we passed another bar, Casey stopped. "Let's head in."

"I thought you wanted to head back?"

She shook her head. "It's New Orleans, Cappie. Let's go crazy. Weren't you the one who wanted to let our hair down?"

"All right," I said, letting her pull me into the bar. It was more crowded than the last bar, which I liked. Casey headed to the bar and came back with two drinks.

"To New Orleans!" Casey cried, clinking her beer with mine.

"Nawlans!" I echoed, chugging half the bottle in one go. While I finished the rest of my drink more slowly, I looked around the bar. I liked this bar already. More people, louder music, and less J. Crew. This bar was more like a KT party, and I approved. Casey dragged me out to the dance floor, laughing and punching me lightly when I busted out my signature dance move, the robot.

When the song changed to a ridiculous remix of Enrique Iglesias's "Escape" (Casey's version of my Kelly Clarkson love), she pulled me closer. I gulped as I felt her body against mine and tried not to let my nervousness, or anything else show. We danced like that for the rest of the night and I felt my misgivings and worries fly away. I told every doubt, every worry I had to shove it, and let myself go with the flow.

We stayed at that bar until nearly three in the morning, when I realized I couldn't afford any more drinks. We stumbled out of the bar and into the street. I paused for a minute, taking in the cool, fresh air.

"Hey, bitch!" I heard someone yell from behind me. Instinctively, I knew he was talking about Casey. I stiffened. I wasn't much of a fighter, but I hated when people talked about the people I cared about like that. I stopped for a second, trying to figure out what to do. It turned out to be the wrong decision, as whomever it was that yelled made his way over to us.

It was the boy from earlier, the one who'd bought her drinks at the first bar. He was wearing a rugby shirt with A&F written on the sleeve. The collar was popped and he smelled of Axe and cheap beer. He was a Lambda Sig if I ever saw one. "Look, we're just heading out. We have a long drive tomorrow."

He ignored me and focused on Casey. "Why are you with this douche bag when you can be with a real man?"

She snickered. "A real man? All right, sure thing. Let's get out of here, Cappie."

I moved to follow her when he grabbed my shoulder and physically turned me. "Come on, dude, give it up." He didn't. Instead, he punched me in the face and walked away, muttering, "That's what you get, bitch."

I rolled my eyes. Real original, this one was. Still, I gingerly touched my face where he punched me. I hadn't been smacked like that since I two years ago, at Myrtle Beach. Casey ran up. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I said, waving her off. "That bruise is going to make me real hot with the ladies."

She rolled her eyes and led me to the room. When we got there, she pressed a washrag full of ice to my bruise. "You'll be all right," she whispered. She gave the washrag to hold as she went into change. I groaned and fell back against the bed, trying to forget the way she looked when she held the washrag over my face and stared into my eyes.

When she came back into the room and turned out the lights, I expected her to crawl into her bed. Instead though, she came over to me again, taking the washrag out of my hand. "Thanks for being there tonight, Cap. I had a lot of fun with you." She kissed me where the purple bruise was forming and crawled into the other side of my bed, scooting over until she was right next to me. Acting almost on instinct, I curled into her, her back against my chest, my arms wrapped around her waist. Just like the old days. I fell asleep faster than I thought I would.

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**Author's Notes: **Ah, that wasn't as funny as I hoped it would be. Still, I hope you guys liked it. Let me know, hmm? I really hope you guys like this; I've never had such a huge response to a first chapter!


	3. Austin

**Let Your Hair Down**

**oranges and cigarettes**

**Disclaimer: Greek isn't mine, nor are the Plain Whit T's and MC Lars. **

**Author's Notes: It's a little shorter this time, but I liked the place I stopped. Also, this is as good a time as any to confess that, the most I know about most of these cities is seeing them on the Real World. Trufax.**

* * *

Sometime during the course of the night, Casey and I had moved apart slightly. When I woke up the next morning, she was lying on her stomach closer to the other side of the bed, her right arm thrown across my chest. I pulled away as quietly as I could without waking her and went to the bathroom to pee and wash the sleep out of my face. When I came out with two glasses of water in my hand, I saw that it was noon, which meant we only had half an hour to get our things together and check out. I quickly shook Casey awake, handing her one of the glasses. She accepted it with a smile and went into the bathroom to brush her teeth while I threw some clothes on.

After she finished getting ready, we checked out and headed to a McDonalds to get some food and figure out where we heading next.

"How about Colorado? Aspen, maybe?" I suggested.

She shook her head. "Aspen probably sucks." I refrained from pointing out that Aspen is where she was supposed to go with Evan until he dumped her, and she continued. "Plus, it's really far out of the way. Why don't we go somewhere somewhat along the way. Somewhere in Texas maybe?"

"There's an idea. I don't know too much about what's interesting in Texas, though." I thought it over for a few minutes. "How about Austin? They seemed to enjoy it during that season of the Real World."

She rolled her eyes. "That was the suckiest season of The Real World ever. I hated every single person from that season."

I chuckled to myself. Freshman year, I'd been treated to several rants about how Wes was the biggest tool to ever have existed.

"Well, I'm still pretty sure the city seemed interesting. You in or do you have a better idea?"

She shrugged. "It should be fun. Couldn't be worse than New Orleans. Unless you got kicked in the crotch or something," she giggled.

I paled and involuntarily moved to protect myself. "Not funny, Case."

We planned our journey as we finished eating. After we'd finished and tossed our trash, we flipped for who would drive first. I lost and got into the driver's seat.

We drove in silence for the first half an hour or so, still tired from the night before. We hadn't gotten into the room until about four, and it hadn't been the most restful night of sleep we'd ever had. I've never been able to stay quiet for too long, though, so after a while I broke the silence.

"So, tell me, Casey," I said, using my best ten-year-old girl voice, "do you have a _boyfriend_?"

Internally, I steeled myself for her response.

"Nope. I haven't really been with anyone since Jack, and we broke up when he graduated early in December." I remembered him. He wasn't a bad guy, he probably treated Casey better than Evan and I had for that matter, but I'd still cheered a little when he left CRU.

"So what about you? Has the Great Cappie found love?"

_Found it freshman year_. The thought came instantly, but I pushed it out of my mind. "Not really, no. I haven't really been with anyone since Rebecca, actually."

Casey's face darkened at the mention of her little sister's name. "So you've only slept with, what, fifteen TriPi girls since then?"

I winced. I didn't regret sleeping with any of my one-night stands, but I did hate how it made Casey feel. "You wound me," I said, clutching my heart dramatically. "I was serious last night. I really do think the random hookup is getting kind of… old."

She threw me a look, surprised. "Really? You actually care about more than just getting ass?"

I took my eyes off of the road for a second, just long enough to give her an injured look. "You really think that's all I care about?" I changed lanes then, for no real reason other than it meant I would have to look at the road instead of her.

"No, I don't," she said quietly, regretfully. "I know you care about some girls, you just hide it under all of your man-whoring and traipsing around Dobblers in just your underwear."

"Hey, that was just the one time!" I defended myself, no longer upset.

She snickered, "What was the deal with that anyways?"

I shrugged. "I bet Beaver he couldn't fit a whole bag of marshmallows in his mouth. He could."

She laughed. From the corner of my eye, I could see her staring out the window. "I miss you guys."

"You should come by more often. The guys like you."

She looked at back me, discomfort written all over her face. "I think they like me too much. Every time I come by, if I see Wade or Beaver, they smile at me like it's just a matter of time before…" She stopped suddenly, as though she was unsure of herself all of a sudden.

"Before what?" I asked, chancing a glance at her.

Her expression was mostly blank, but I thought I could detect pain and regret somewhere in there. "Before we get back together."

I didn't know what to say to that and an awkward silence filled the car. I was about to suggest playing the License Plate game just to get her to talk again when she spoke on her own.

"Do you miss being in a relationship?" The question came out slowly, as though she was afraid to ask it, and the words hung in the air between us.

I cleared my throat slightly. "With you or in general?"

"Both, I guess," she shrugged. "Or in general, it doesn't really matter."

"Well, the answers different for both questions. I miss caring about someone that much, I guess. And I like knowing that they're there for you. Plus, the daily sex is really nice."

She rolled her eyes and chuckled. "You're such a big." She was quiet for a second before asking, "And what about with me?"

"Daily sex with you is always great," I said, smiling at her. "But as far as a relationship goes? I don't miss our specific relationship because it didn't exactly work. We cared too much about the Greek system." She looked down and I continued. "But I've been up for a second chance for years, assuming that you want one for the right reasons."

She wrinkled her nose in confusion. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well," I said slowly, knowing this wasn't going to lead to anything good, "if you were in it to get revenge on someone else."

"That was years ago," she said, her eyes flashing angrily.

"Or, if you were in it just to have a warm body beside you when you moved to a strange new city…" I trailed off.

"Oh, is that what you think I'm doing? That this road trip is just some way to seduce you because I can't be alone?"

"That's not what I meant," I pleaded, but the damage had been done.

"I can't believe I was letting myself fall for you again. You don't even trust me! You'd been so sweet lately I thought we were ready again. I thought it was fate that we were both going to New York, so I thought it was the perfect opportunity to give us another chance. And you were so great last night! I can't believe you thought that of me."

I tried to defend myself, but Casey wouldn't let me hear it. She threw on her sunglasses and her iPod, turning it up so loud I knew it must have hurt her ears. Even though I knew it was sort of my fault, I couldn't help but be annoyed with her. She wasn't perfect. She _had_ used me before. And she didn't even let me explain!

We drove in stony silence for hour. We stopped at a few rest stops and bought snacks, but I refused to ask her if she was hungry or to see if she was willing to drive. When we got to Austin, I checked into the first decent looking hotel I could find. As soon as I unlocked the door, Casey ran into the bathroom and turned the shower on.

I groaned and lay back on the bed, my mind racing. When she came out, she headed downstairs. I followed her quickly, and we ate dinner at separate tables in the hotel restaurant. When I finished and paid, she was still eating, so I headed up to the room alone. I'd barely been there ten minutes when she came in, putting makeup on and fixing her hair.

"Are you going somewhere?" I asked.

"Yes. A boy handed me a flier for a concert and I'm going. Hey! Maybe I'll bring him back to New York with me. Anything to avoid being alone, right?"

I hated hearing that angry, spiteful tone in her voice. I shoved my hands in my pockets and walked closer to her. "Look, Case, I know you're mad. Hell, I'm mad, too. But you can't just go out on your own in some random city. Anything could happen."

She met my eyes in the mirror and I could see her debating with herself. "Fine, you can come with me, but don't speak to me."

She finished getting ready and turned to me. "Come on, let's get out of here." I followed close behind her. My anger had faded and I was regretting ever saying anything. It obviously blew up in my face, and I probably messed up my last chance with her. I slammed the door as we left and she glanced back at me surprised, but said nothing.

We took a cab to the club. It was a fairly small venue and very crowded. There were a few tables in the back and a large open area in front of the stage. We got there a little early; the band wasn't on yet. Instead, a tape deck played old alternative rock songs from the 90's, which made me laugh a little bit. As I went over to get myself a drink, I noticed a large sign behind the bar that proclaimed it was the clubs annual battle of the bands contest. It took a while to get served because there were thirty people trying to get drinks from one bartender, and most of them were a lot hotter and more female than I am. After finally getting my vodka, I began looking around for Casey.

"Cappie?" I heard an incredulous voice call from behind me. I turned and saw Tom and Dave standing there, looking shocked. "What're you doing in Austin, man?" They walked over to me and gave me a hug.

"Road tripping to LA," I replied, grinning. They weren't my closest friends, but they were still my brothers. Besides, I'd take any friendly face after the icy reception Casey had been giving me all evening.

"We're in the battle," Tom explained. "I think we got it in the bag, though, those other bands really blow."

Several guys carrying guitar cases walked by and glared at Tom. He ignored them, though, and continued. "So what's up, Cappie? You here alone?"

"No," I said, downing half my drink. "Casey's around here somewhere." I looked around but didn't really see her anywhere. Dave and Tom exchanged a meaningful look and I rolled my eyes. "We're not here together, in fact she's really pissed at me right now."

Dave laughed. "Sounds like the norm, then. Do you wanna come back stage with us? There are some hot groupies back there."

I was tempted, but the reason I was even at this stupid club was to keep an eye on Casey. "Not right now, I gotta find Casey. But we'll find you after the show, all right?" They nodded and left me, and I made my way around the club, finally finding Casey by the bar. She ignored me when I walked up to her and I suddenly decided I'd had enough. "This is ridiculous, Casey, can we talk?" I gave her my best puppy dog eyes and she relented, following me outside.

"Look. I'm sorry I suggested you were using me. I know you wouldn't do that intentionally, but I've been burned in the past and I'm a little skeptical that we might actually finally be getting on the right track. And now I feel even worse because that's all I really want, is a second chance with you, and now I've fucked it all up. Again." I said all of this very quickly, not wanting her to speak and ruin things again.

"I'm sorry that I hurt you," Casey said, grabbing my hand. I tried not to let myself read too much into the gesture, but it was impossible. My mind was whirring so hard that I could barely concentrate on what she was saying. "I wish I could take it all back. But I'm not doing that now, I promise. When we did that paper together junior year, what I thought was fate ended up being nothing more than a six-pack bribe. But, you finding me in the library, us moving to New York, hell, even you seeing the sign for the car rental place, all that really is fate, and I'm finally starting to trust it again. All I need is for you to trust me."

I looked down and saw my thumb was tracing circles on the back of her hand. "I do trust you, mostly. It's just that, I didn't want to get my hopes up for nothing."

She lifted my face so she could look me dead in the eyes. "It's not for nothing. You and I will never be 'nothing', Cappie." And then her face, which had been so serious for this entire conversation, brightened into a beautiful smile.

"All right." I took a step closer, closing the gap between us "All right," I whispered against her lips. She parted them slightly…

…and then jumped at a loud banging noise. It was Dave, throwing the door open. "Come on, Cappie, we're on next." Then he looked closer at us. "Oh. I thought she wasn't speaking to you."

"I didn't see her talking, did you?" I replied, a little annoyed and a little amused.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly. I waved his apology off and followed him inside.

The band on before his, "Machines of Hate," really did blow. They were some crappy industrial band and my ears were bleeding by the time they finished. When Tom and Dave and the rest of the guys took the stage, Casey and I moved closer to the band, ready to hear something decent. They didn't play anything I hadn't heard a million times before at KT parties, but it was still much better than the rest of the competition. They closed with "Hey There, Delilah", their big crowd favorite.

When they mentioned New York City, I felt Casey's hand slip into mine and give it a little squeeze and I grinned. Things were finally falling into place. After they finished, they headed backstage and we began drinking in earnest. They weren't kidding about the hot, skanky groupies that followed the bands around, but Casey managed to scare them off of me with her trademark glare. Having been on the receiving end of that glare more times than I'd like to remember, I felt bad for them. A little. Not really, actually.

We drank and talked for a few hours, until Casey's head began to droop against my shoulder. "We gotta head out, boys," I said, indicated to Casey's half-closed eyes as an explanation. They nodded their understanding and we made plans for lunch and sight seeing the next day. I led Casey outside, where we grabbed a cab and headed back to the hotel. The cool night air must have done her some good because she was a lot perkier in the car.

As soon as I opened the door to the room, she bounded inside and jumped on the bed enthusiastically. "I thought you were tired?" I asked. I felt the smile on my face as I asked the question.

She jumped up from the bed and walked closer to me. "I faked it. I just wanted some alone time with you, Cap." She leaned up and kissed me and the world exploded, just a bit.

_Oh, it's what you do to me._

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**Author's Notes: All right, I wanted to post this before midnight, because then I'll have updated every day. Unfortunately, that pattern's going to stop because tomorrow's my birthday (!!) and then I start a job on Sunday, so I'll have less time to write. Sorry kittens. **


	4. Nowhere, New Mexico

**Let Your Hair Down  
Oranges and cigarettes  
Disclaimer: None of the copyright material I mention in here is mine, nor is Greek and the characters and situations that make it up.  
Author's Notes: I know it's been ridiculously, absurdly long. But is it just me or has the whole fandom sort of died? I hope things pick up when the season starts again! Anyway, I hope to finish this story within a week. There's only two or three chapters left anyway. I hope I haven't lost any fans over the break… please review to let me know I'm not all alone!**

* * *

The next morning, I woke up before she did. It was disorienting at first, waking up with our limbs tangled together once again. In that brief second that came in between waking up and recognizing your surroundings, I thought it was freshman year again. That feeling only lasted for a moment, though, and the memories from last night quickly came rushing back.

I looked down at Casey, who was still asleep. She looked peaceful and calm, and with her blond hair covering her shoulders and the white sheets that surrounded her, she almost looked like an angel. And so I gave her the wake-up an angel deserved.

_WHAM_. The pillow made a muffled thump as it collided with her face. She woke up almost instantly, and I couldn't stop myself from laughing at the confusion written all over her face. I jumped off the bed and into the bathroom before she could realize what happened and retaliate, chuckling to myself. While I was brushing my teeth in the sink, I heard her banging on the door.

"Cappie! Let me in! You're gonna get it!" In addition to her yells, I heard her stomp her foot on the floor and I imagined this is how she must have acted when she would fight with Rusty when they were five.

I was about to hop in the shower when she called through the door again. "Cappie, I was hoping we could… conserve water? You know, both of us showering separately wastes so much."

I yanked the door open hastily before taking a breath to regain my cool. "Well, I've always been very concerned about the environment," I said, leaning in close.

"Good," she said, smiling sweetly. Then she smacked me with the pillow and shoved me aside, slamming the door behind her.

Rolling my eyes, I sat down on the bed and waited for her to finish. "Minx." I found the remote somewhere and flipped the TV on. After scrolling through the channels twice, I settled on HBO and lost myself in the trials of Cameron in _10 Things I Hate about You_. The credits were rolling when I realized Casey was still in the shower, nearly forty minutes after she'd gone in. I cursed under my breath, remembering that she took twice as long in the shower if she'd been drinking the night before. I never understood it myself; the hot water and steam always made me dizzy. Forcing myself off of the bed, I stumbled to the bathroom door and pounded on it. "Out, Casey! You're making us late!"

She didn't respond but I heard the water turn off a few seconds later. She opened the door dripping wet and dressed in a towel. "Your chamber awaits, your majesty," she said sarcastically, glaring at me. I didn't respond, distracted as I was over her appearance. It was all I could do to make it into the shower without falling all over myself.

I showered much quicker than Casey did, but we still were running late as we left the hotel and hurried to the coffee shop. We were supposed to meet Tom and Dave at twelve, and it was half past by the time we skidded to a stop in front of their table.

"Sorry we're late," I said smoothly. "We were… occupied, if you catch my drift."

"Yeah, Cappie was all caught up in a chick flick," Casey corrected me, snickering.

I let out an offended gasp. "Excuse me! _10 Things _is a cinematic masterpiece! It was robbed, _robbed_ I say, at the Oscars, thank you very much." Tom and Dave showed no surprise at my defense of the movie. My love of it was legendary at the KT house, and Wade may or may not have came home early one night to find Spitter and I drunk and near tears watching the movie shortly after Heath Ledger's untimely death.

"Whatever," Tom said, standing up and throwing away the remnants of his sandwich. "Grab your lunch to go and let's hit the road, buddy." I complied and soon we were standing in the bright sunshine, looking around. "Well? Where to?" Tom asked, looking at me expectantly.

"Hell if I know," I said, shoving my hands deep into my pockets. "What's there to do in this town?"

"Drink?" Casey asked and we all looked at her in surprise. "Well, it's all they did on the Real World anyways."

"Come on, let's ask someone," I said, tugging her by the hand. Eventually, we found out the names of several museums and galleries in town. I'm not much for art, one painting starts to blend with the next after a while, but I am a bit of a history nerd, so it was actually an enjoyable sort of afternoon. Of course, Casey shoving me into deserted alcoves for a quick kiss might have had something to do with that, too. Either way, Austin was quickly shaping out to be my favorite city so far. Eventually, however, all good things had to come to an end, and we resumed our road trip.

After a quick game of rock paper scissors, which I lost, I got behind the wheel and began the drive out of the city. As we reached the outskirts, we came across a Target. Casey was already asleep, so I pulled in and ran inside as quickly and quietly as I could. I came back with a couple pillows and a few blankets and was back on the highway before she woke up.

"Morning, sunshine!" I said, grinning at her when I saw her stretch and sleepily open her eyes.

"Cappie, it's like five o'clock in the evening."

"Really?" I said, stroking my chin thoughtfully. "Five o'clock… well, you know what that means."

"What?"

"Time for you to drive, pumpkin." She didn't respond to my comment, but shot me a look of pure loathing as I pulled over onto the shoulder.

"So, I know you haven't dated a girl in a few months, so you might be out of practice, but comparing a girl to a round, orange, squatty vegetable isn't really the best way to charm her. Just an FYI." She glanced at, smirking and winking.

"Ah, who needs charm when you have rugged good looks and sparkling intellect?" I asked, puffing out my chest.

She turned back to the road. "Well, I suppose you don't need charm if you don't have all that. Too bad you don't though."

I snickered. "Well, why are you with me then?"

"Eh, pity mostly. And you're great in the sack." And she pressed harder on the gas and we roared down the freeway. I rolled my window down and hung my arm on the window, feeling lighter and happier than I'd been in months. Three and a half years, if you wanted to be specific. I couldn't believe my last drunk night at Dobblers led to this. Who'd have thunk it?

We drove for a few hours more before stopping at a Taco Bell for a late dinner. After we ate we switched again and I was once more in the driver's seat, which was just what I wanted. I deliberately avoided all exits, though many of them offered cheap motels along the way. I had a plan.

Finally, I saw the exit I'd been waiting for, a small, mostly ignored turn off for a small lake somewhere in southern New Mexico. I ignored Casey's questions and followed the familiar roads, the very ones I'd first learned to drive on. Eventually, I arrived at my old stomping grounds, the camp where Evan I first met.

I stopped in front of the head counselor's cabin, which was easily the biggest and nicest one. Evan's parents donated quite generously to the place and when he received that particular position one summer, there was a sudden need to upgrade the cabins. Funny how that worked out.

I pulled the blankets and pillows out of the trunks and carried them into the cabin, which was still relatively clean. A little dusty, but we'd brought our own sheets, so no big deal, right? Camp wasn't in session for a month and a half more, so we had the place to ourselves. That was worth a little dust, or so I thought.

"Cappie, I can't sleep in here. I have allergies," Casey informed me flatly. I groaned. I'd forgotten about those.

"Come on, Case, how bad could they possibly be?"

"Look, Cappie, do you want to kiss the girl with snot pouring out of her nose and red eyes?"

"If that girl's you, sure thing," I said and a small grin replaced her annoyed look. "But if it bothers you, we can sleep outside. It'll be charming and romantic, you'll love it."

"You know," she said, regarding me thoughtfully, "for a guy who thinks vegetables are cute, you know how to please a girl."

I grinned at her and took her hand, leading her to my favorite place in camp, the dock.

"This was where I spent every night back in the day," I said, pulling her down to sit next me. "When I was little, I used to skip stones here while it got dark, and when it got older, I used to hide under here and try to get high." A nostalgic smile crossed my face as I remembered the best days of my youth, faltering slightly when my thoughts turned to Evan. I shook my head. Friendships ended all the time. True, they usually don't with punches and broken glass and a shocked Greek system, but still, they end.

Casey glanced at me searchingly and squeezed my hand like she knew what I was thinking and understood. I smiled again, a small one but a real one. I loved that girl.

Whew. It'd been a while since I let myself think that and it was a relief not to lie to myself anymore. We sat in silence for a few minutes until she broke the silence. "When I was seven, I pushed Rusty into the lake for decapitating my Barbie dolls in some messed up science experiment." I pictured a furious, tiny version of Casey, glaring fiercely at Spitter with her hands on her hips, losing control of her anger and pushing a midget with ridiculous hair into the water. It was sort of perfect actually. I started to reply but caught myself yawning instead. "Come on, let's go to bed."

I headed over to the field, where the gas was still soft enough to lie down on. I spread one of the blankets on the ground and tried as best I could to fit both pillows on the other one. "It'll be a tight fit, but it should do," I said, shrugging.

"I bet this was your plan all along. You just want to have your wicked way with me," she scoffed.

"Oh, believe me, Case, I don't need an elaborate plan for that," I said, leaning in for a kiss.

"Bed, Cappie, I'm exhausted."

I pouted briefly before pulling my shirt off and lying down. "Yeah, me too."

She curled up next to me and I was asleep before I had a chance to formulate my next thought. Unfortunately, I woke up only a few hours later when the skies opened up above us and drenched us with rain.

"Come on," I said, jumping up and grabbing the blankets and pillows. "We gotta get inside." The rain was coming down hard and fast and I was soaked by the time I finished my sentence.

Casey was staring up at the sky like she'd never seen it before. "I love the rain," she called to me over the noise of the water. "When I was little, I always had to go inside when it rained and I promised myself that when I was grown up, I'd play in the rain all the time, just because I could. I don't really do that." And she jumped up and spun around, still staring at the sky and laughing.

"Casey! You're gonna get sick!" I yelled, fully aware that I sounded like a mother (certainly not my mother, who believed that letting me play in the rain was just an expression of the beautiful spirit of the child- her words, not mine). But she grabbed my hand and pulled me with her and I couldn't really help myself. A chuckle escaped my lips. "You're ridiculous, Casey, but I love you."

She froze, staring at me. "You what?" she whispered, and I don't know how I heard her over the howling wind and pouring rain.

"I… gloved you? Like, a boxer…" I was gasping at straws. "Oh, fuck it, Case, I love you. I've loved you ever since I saw you four years ago and I'm tired of lying about it. You don't have to say it back or anything."

She stared at me for a long minute, saying nothing. I shifted uncomfortably. "Come on, Casey, it's pouring outside. Let's pretend it never happened and go inside."

She started laughing. "You wonderful fool. I love you too!" And she launched herself at me, kissing me like she never had before. I forgot about the wind and the rain and the thunder, forgot about everything around me but her lips on mine until a lightning bolt crashed into a nearby tree. "Inside, now," I said, and I pulled her inside, laughing for no reason at all.

We collapsed on the bed, using the towels we'd swiped from the motels we'd stayed in for warmth. "I love you, love you, love you," I repeated, because when you've stopped yourself from saying something for four years, you can't stop once you're finally allowed to.

We woke up late again the next morning, tired from all the excitement from the night before. It was nearly two o'clock and I was starving, so I threw some clothes on, scratched a note for Casey in the dirt outside, and headed into town for some food. She was waiting for me when I got back, changed and looking as clean as possible, given the circumstances. After we'd finished eating, I turned to her. "Ready to go?"

"What's the rush?" she asked. "We can hang out here for a while more, can't we?"

"Sure thing. What do you want to do?"

"I dunno, what is there do around here?"

"Well, nothing right now. I mean, camp's not in session, so we don't really have any of the equipment for anything fun. 'Cept swimming, you don't need anything for that. But we don't have our swimsuits."

She looked disappointed. "Yeah, I figured. I just didn't want to head back into the car so fast."

"Well, we could always skinny-dip."

I expected her to laugh and slap at me, or at least let out an indignant "Cappie!" But instead, she broke out into a wide smile. "I haven't done that in years!" I about dropped. Since when does Casey skinny-dip? She had to be bluffing.

"Well," I said, unable to stop a lecherous grin from crossing my face, "if you're such an expert, you go first."

"Sure. It's nothing you haven't already seen anyway." She ran towards the lake, pulling her clothes off as she went. She took a running leap off the dock, yelling like a little kid as she cannonballed into the water.

I followed more slowly, leaving my clothes in a neat pile at the edge of the dock. I found the best part of the lake, the old rope swing, quickly. I pulled back, closed my eyes, and yelled, "Here I go!" I didn't open them again until I was high above the lake. From that vantage point, I saw tons of stunned counselors with bags in their hands, staring at me in shock. They must have just arrived to set camp up. Damn, it would start early this year. I jumped out of the water as fast as I could, grabbing as many of my and Casey's clothes as I could. She followed behind me, blushing and picking up whatever articles I dropped. As I jumped into the rent a car, naked, I heard one of the directors marvel, "was that Cappie? You know, the kid that always hung around with the Chambers kid?"

I groaned and banged my head against the steering wheel. I could only hope that he wouldn't tell Evan's parents about what'd happened.


End file.
